Thanks to server outages at work, I made a big bunny softie for Maya. She loves it!
Sunday, February 18, 2007
"Doghead, you good dog, you."
Quote from a wee relative of my friend Lisa. He had a dog called Doghead whom he loved a lot.
This is my way of saying goodbye to the year of the dog! I'm sure to draw a pig for the new year soon.
This is my way of saying goodbye to the year of the dog! I'm sure to draw a pig for the new year soon.
Monday, February 12, 2007
One-Eye and His Treasury of Best Loved Poems
1. This is for a wonderful little boy whose parents, perhaps without knowing it or meaning to, have helped so many preemie and micropreemie parents through what is an awfully scary time.
2. I had my idea of what this was going to look like and then my husband had his. He sent me to futhark.com to study some runes. It was a good idea.
3. I think I'm pretty obsessed with these misty blue-grey backgrounds. I would like to say it is the influence of winter here in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, but actually our winter is this seemingly endless expanse of grody, frozen brown. So, these misty blue-grey backgrounds are what I wish winter would look like. And then I wish winter would dump some good sledding snow on me and go away really quickly.
4. Yes, this does make me feel like unpacking flat boxes of unassembled furniture and cursing over Allen keys. We got the Sverker series of shelves when we were first married and Sverker became an expletive in our home. It's still handy.
5. I went scrounging after some Swedish music too and the best I had was a-ha (Norwegian). I loooooooooved a-ha when I was a youngun. Forget "Take On Me," the other stuff is lovely and dramatic and totally 80's and I think my friend Keri should put it on loudly and write novels to it.
6. Speaking of writing and books and best loved poems, I miss my friend Julie so much, and Julie never says no to a good book.
2. I had my idea of what this was going to look like and then my husband had his. He sent me to futhark.com to study some runes. It was a good idea.
3. I think I'm pretty obsessed with these misty blue-grey backgrounds. I would like to say it is the influence of winter here in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, but actually our winter is this seemingly endless expanse of grody, frozen brown. So, these misty blue-grey backgrounds are what I wish winter would look like. And then I wish winter would dump some good sledding snow on me and go away really quickly.
4. Yes, this does make me feel like unpacking flat boxes of unassembled furniture and cursing over Allen keys. We got the Sverker series of shelves when we were first married and Sverker became an expletive in our home. It's still handy.
5. I went scrounging after some Swedish music too and the best I had was a-ha (Norwegian). I loooooooooved a-ha when I was a youngun. Forget "Take On Me," the other stuff is lovely and dramatic and totally 80's and I think my friend Keri should put it on loudly and write novels to it.
6. Speaking of writing and books and best loved poems, I miss my friend Julie so much, and Julie never says no to a good book.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
shoo shoo boogie boo
1. Nathan has taught me the love of penguins.
2. One of my goals in life is to leave many zany stories behind. Here is a zany story about my late grandmother: when it was REALLY cold she would bundle up her sons and use the term "shoo shoo boogie boo" to emphasize just how cold it was. I am not really sure where the term comes from. My uncle has a theory that it has to do with the perils of having to tinkle in an outhouse in frosty wintertime (we're Polish American and shoo shoo is a Polish kid's term for tinkle... although my generation of the family never actually used that term and I suspect my father's generation didn't, either). Who knows.
Anyway, it is for damn sure shoo shoo boogie boo cold here. I feel like it's been below freezing since 1819. We've had very little precipitation, though, so instead of a winter-white wonderland and !!!getting to sled down my awesome sledding hill!!! it's just this frozen-stiff, grey-brown BLAH out there.
If it must be this cold, I would really rather be sledding down my awesome sledding hill with all the kids. We could all use a snow day.
2. One of my goals in life is to leave many zany stories behind. Here is a zany story about my late grandmother: when it was REALLY cold she would bundle up her sons and use the term "shoo shoo boogie boo" to emphasize just how cold it was. I am not really sure where the term comes from. My uncle has a theory that it has to do with the perils of having to tinkle in an outhouse in frosty wintertime (we're Polish American and shoo shoo is a Polish kid's term for tinkle... although my generation of the family never actually used that term and I suspect my father's generation didn't, either). Who knows.
Anyway, it is for damn sure shoo shoo boogie boo cold here. I feel like it's been below freezing since 1819. We've had very little precipitation, though, so instead of a winter-white wonderland and !!!getting to sled down my awesome sledding hill!!! it's just this frozen-stiff, grey-brown BLAH out there.
If it must be this cold, I would really rather be sledding down my awesome sledding hill with all the kids. We could all use a snow day.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Ali had a little lamb
Happy birthday wishes to the beautiful and courageous Ali. May all your dreams come true.
(Ali is dave_graham's prettier half and their daughter's nursery is allll lambs and so cute. And she calls her girl Lamb, too, as an endearment.)
(Ali is dave_graham's prettier half and their daughter's nursery is allll lambs and so cute. And she calls her girl Lamb, too, as an endearment.)
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
I get a little closer every day
When I grow up I want to be a fairy godmother. I am working on it. The only part of the picture that is real (so far) is the handbag -- which is my actual factual handbag, and which goes with approximately none of my present outfits but really, what the hell, I carry it everywhere anyway. I will have to get my lovely resident photographer to photograph it.
Incidentally, my daughter and I like to sing "Bibbity Bobbity Boo" (the fairy godmother's big number in Disney's Cinderella) and what is really charming about that is that neither of us knows the words.
Incidentally, my daughter and I like to sing "Bibbity Bobbity Boo" (the fairy godmother's big number in Disney's Cinderella) and what is really charming about that is that neither of us knows the words.
I will keep the sun warm for you
My friend Amy is immortalized as a... whatever I am calling these things
Monday, January 22, 2007
I will smite you with my deadly carrot
...or my impressive facial hair, whichever.
When I was a little kid (different I here. Please be assured I do not have impressive facial hair) we used to play Dictionary. We didn't have Google back then but, what with my parents being English teachers, we had some hefty dictionaries. Anyway, drias was a memorable Dictionary word (meaning "deadly carrot"), and it cracked me right up. All the time. Allll the time.
When I was a little kid (different I here. Please be assured I do not have impressive facial hair) we used to play Dictionary. We didn't have Google back then but, what with my parents being English teachers, we had some hefty dictionaries. Anyway, drias was a memorable Dictionary word (meaning "deadly carrot"), and it cracked me right up. All the time. Allll the time.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Bus Stop
I love little babcias.
This picture has several meanings for me:
1. My mom is friends with a Polish Ladies Action Prayer Task Force and whenever there is big trouble, the Polish Ladies Action Prayer Task Force kicks into high gear. Such was the case when my tiny daughter was born. Those babcias do good work :) They also send me very tasty desserts around the holidays.
2. My own Polish grandmother loved pink (my other grandmother loved blue, and that was how I told them apart when I was very small).
3. I have two other de facto grandmothers. A grandmother and a great aunt. We adopted each other. For my birthday they are always sending me "to my granddaughter" and "to my niece" cards and I am always so thrilled with it. They used to keep a tiny chihuahua named Pitzeleh. He was like a little punting dog, but they loved him so much. They have another little tiny dog now whom they dress in little sweaters.
This picture has several meanings for me:
1. My mom is friends with a Polish Ladies Action Prayer Task Force and whenever there is big trouble, the Polish Ladies Action Prayer Task Force kicks into high gear. Such was the case when my tiny daughter was born. Those babcias do good work :) They also send me very tasty desserts around the holidays.
2. My own Polish grandmother loved pink (my other grandmother loved blue, and that was how I told them apart when I was very small).
3. I have two other de facto grandmothers. A grandmother and a great aunt. We adopted each other. For my birthday they are always sending me "to my granddaughter" and "to my niece" cards and I am always so thrilled with it. They used to keep a tiny chihuahua named Pitzeleh. He was like a little punting dog, but they loved him so much. They have another little tiny dog now whom they dress in little sweaters.
A bumblebee for inkyblack
Inkyblack, who shoots the most luminescent portraits of children, and who is also an astonishingly sweet person, requested a bumblebee from me. It was a joy to comply. I am all giddy.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
x and o
I was able to leave my office on time today. Twilight. But then there was a traffic jam on the way home. The good thing about a traffic jam at twilight in the wintertime here is that there is plenty of time to study the trees and the sky behind them. I had plenty of music to listen to (Jennifer Kimball, Peter Mulvey) and I wasn't hungry and I didn't have to pee. It was nice to sit and watch.
My favorite kind of tree to see is a tree that has new baby leaves on it, in daylight right after the rain. There is a sharp contrast between the wet bark and the new day-glo leaves. But the silhouettes of skeletal trees at twilight are a close second.
My favorite kind of tree to see is a tree that has new baby leaves on it, in daylight right after the rain. There is a sharp contrast between the wet bark and the new day-glo leaves. But the silhouettes of skeletal trees at twilight are a close second.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Foooooooour Colors!
We are not halfway through January and I've made one of my big goals for the year (draw in 4 colors or fewer and like it)! Now I need to learn how to silkscreen this onto a bazillion t-shirts. My daughter would probably love wearing this buggie. I would, too.
I actually have been doing many creative things wherever and however I can but I haven't been too too much at liberty to show them off yet. One reason is because some of the new creative things are waiting for the birth of a friend's baby, and how honored I am to do a special project for this family! Another reason is some of the creative things are not digital in nature and we have not struck upon a happy coincidence where "free time" meets "adequate light for photography". Another reason is I'm in major crunch mode at my day job, working lots of late hours, and so most of my drawings are on scrap paper in the margins of meeting notes as I try to keep myself awake and alert.
I actually have been doing many creative things wherever and however I can but I haven't been too too much at liberty to show them off yet. One reason is because some of the new creative things are waiting for the birth of a friend's baby, and how honored I am to do a special project for this family! Another reason is some of the creative things are not digital in nature and we have not struck upon a happy coincidence where "free time" meets "adequate light for photography". Another reason is I'm in major crunch mode at my day job, working lots of late hours, and so most of my drawings are on scrap paper in the margins of meeting notes as I try to keep myself awake and alert.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
the boy who brought back the sun
We've had a sweet Solstice day (which was also a sweet Hannukah day and a sweet day of Cheesemas and Christmas preparations -- we do it all). I made a wish upon the first star I saw, lit my Solstice candle and sang "happy birthday" to Sunshine with my little daughter. I tried to explain that there would be more sun in each day from now until midsummer -- but I think that was lost in the blur of her desire for more Hannukah gelt (chocolate coins).
Monday, December 18, 2006
Cardinal
I have a goal for 2007 already which is to learn to be content drawing in four colors or fewer (there's a special project I have in mind which restricts the palette quite a lot). It's harder than I thought, drawing in just four colors. Really hard. In this picture I had to give up , but I like it anyway.
Cardinals winter here, where I live. It's not winter yet (instead we have a freak warm snap which I really appreciate), but my desk faces a window and last week, looking out the window, I saw a cardinal among the skeletons of my rose bushes.
Cardinals winter here, where I live. It's not winter yet (instead we have a freak warm snap which I really appreciate), but my desk faces a window and last week, looking out the window, I saw a cardinal among the skeletons of my rose bushes.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Angels We Have Heard Go Toot
Cardboard (paper towel tube) and paper angels I made with Maya Chocolatey Claire on her 2nd birthday.
We are getting into the Cheesemas spirit here. During the photo shoot I nibbled on part of the "set" -- can you see the hunks of Colby Jack and Port Salut in the background? They were delicious.
We are getting into the Cheesemas spirit here. During the photo shoot I nibbled on part of the "set" -- can you see the hunks of Colby Jack and Port Salut in the background? They were delicious.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Neonatal Flying Pig
I've been asked to draw a flying pig for a very special preemie (one of the happy outcomes of the Shopping From The Heart event last Friday at Bryn Mawr Hospital). This is one of the variations. It's black/white/red to attract and hold the neonatal gaze.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
November is Prematurity Awareness Month!
Here's a picture of Maya and me on our very first Christmas together. It was a difficult time of course (here Maya is recovering from sepsis -- very scary) but I do have beautiful memories of that day. I was telling her about Santa Claus and the NICU staff and volunteers presented each and every patient with a personalized stocking. Special gestures like these make a holiday in the hospital much brighter for everyone, and I'm having a blast "giving back".
Spacedog -- Again!
I am ever closer to meeting my goals for the November 17 Shopping from the Heart benefit at Bryn Mawr Hospital. I liked the Spacedog shadowbox so much that I decided Spacedog needed to be a print and a wall lamp too.
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